The Rotary Club of North Jackson recognized 17 2019 Mississippi Economic Council Star Students and Teachers from North Jackson at the Club’s April 23, 2019 meeting. Students from Jackson Academy, Jackson Prep., Madison Ridgeland Academy and St. Andrew’s Episcopal School and their Star Teachers were recognized. The recognition consisted of having each student describe their school, what it has meant to them, identify their Star Teacher and why they selected that person, and identify their future education plans.
In an effort to encourage scholastic achievement among the state's high school students, the STAR Program has two specific purposes:
Emphasize scholastic excellence and encourage greater scholastic effort among Mississippi students.
Recognition of the teaching profession.
A total of 342 STAR Students were recognized statewide in the spring of 2019.
The STAR Student program seeks to recognize students for academic and ACT test achievement. Students are awarded a certificate and medallion as recognition upon becoming a STAR student. In addition, the Rotary Club of North Jackson, awarded each Star Student a check for $100.
The STAR student program does not directly award scholarships - any scholarship a student is granted is given through the Kelly Gene Cook, Sr. Charitable Foundation, Inc. or other outside organizations.
STAR Student Requirements
To be eligible for the STAR Student honor, a student may be a regularly enrolled senior or an approved dually enrolled student in an accredited public or private high school and or an accredited post-secondary institution. The student must be completing his or her last year of work and must be eligible to receive a diploma in the current school year. The student must have an overall ACT composite score of at least 25 and an overall average of 93 or above in selected subjects in the ninth, tenth, eleventh, and first-semester twelfth grades.
Selection of a Star Teacher. The STAR Student is asked to designate his or her STAR Teacher. The STAR teacher should be one of his or her elementary or secondary classroom teachers (active, former, or retired). The teacher selected is, in the STAR Student’s opinion, the person who has made the greatest contribution to the student’s scholastic achievement.
STAR Student Julia Mitchell was the second runner up in the M. E. C. Star Program, which recognized 342 STAR Students statewide and will receive a $16,000 Scholarship from the Kelly Gene Cook, Sr. Charitable Foundation, Inc. Madison Ridgeland Academy STAR Student Wilson Benton is the son of North Jackson Rotarian Brad Benton. The Rotary Club of North Jackson congratulates these students and teachers on their accomplishments.
2019 Star Students.
The Students and Teachers are shown in the following photo. They are as follow: Shown (from left standing) Andrew Watson, Prep; Kimberly Van Uden, teacher Prep; Judy McKeigney, teacher JA; Anna Griffin, teacher Prep; Cory Caton, teacher Prep; Kimberly Reedy, teacher Prep; Laurie Babb, teacher MRA; Jharick Shields, teacher St. Andrew’s; Donna Patrick, teacher St. Andrew’s; Sarah Shaw, JA and Burkette Moulder, JA. Shown (from left seated) Eliza Burnham, Prep; Columbia Holeman, JA; McKenzie Nichols, Prep; Genevieve Hurst, Prep; Abigail Pittman, Prep; Wilson Benton, MRA; Ishan Bhatt, St. Andrew’s; Julia Mitchell, St. Andrew’s and Henry Sanders, St. Andrew’s. Not pictured are Jackson Prep Star Students Alex Gibbs & Charlie Ott. We congratulate all on their accomplishment.
